European Gas prices moved higher as colder weather and forecasts for continued low temperatures boosted demand and accelerated storage withdrawals. With EU Gas storage down to 58% and investment funds reducing net short positions for a third straight week, downside pressure on TTF has eased, ING's commodity experts Ewa Manthey and Warren Patterson note.

EU Gas storage falls well below seasonal average

"European Gas prices strengthened yesterday, with TTF settling more than 2.5% higher on the day. Colder weather across parts of Europe and forecasts for colder-than-usual conditions in the coming days is providing support to the market. The current cold snap has led to a recent acceleration in storage declines."

"EU Gas storage is now 58% full vs a 5-year average of 72%. The latest positioning data indicate that investment funds reduced their net short position in TTF for the third consecutive week. Funds bought 6.2TWh over the last reporting week, leaving them with a net short of 72.4TWh."